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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25989766">beneath a different light</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vyr/pseuds/Vyr'>Vyr</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dragon Quest XI</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Act III fic, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Aroace Sena | Serena (Dragon Quest XI), Bi Graig | Hendrik (Dragon Quest XI), Canon Temporary Character Death, Dragon Quest XI Act III Spoilers, F/F, Fix-It, Friends to Lovers, Gay Camus | Erik (Dragon Quest XI), Hero | Luminary is Named Eleven | El (Dragon Quest XI), Lesbian Marutina | Jade (Dragon Quest XI), Lesbian Veronica (Dragon Quest XI), M/M, Nonbinary Sylvia | Sylvando (Dragon Quest XI), Other, Selectively Mute Hero | Luminary (Dragon Quest XI), Sylvando uses he/him and they/them pronouns die mad about it, Time Travel, in that case carry on, no like really if you havent gotten past act II just turn around and walk away, unless you dont mind spoilers, we're in for a long one lads</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 12:34:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>944</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25989766</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vyr/pseuds/Vyr</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p><em>'Cause like constellations a million years away</em><br/><em>Every good intention, every good intention</em><br/><em>Is interpolation, a line we drew in the array</em><br/><em>Looking for the faces</em><br/><em>Looking for the shapes in the silence</em><br/> </p>
<p>The Time Sphere shatters beneath El's blade, the Sword of Light shatters in El's hands, and Eleven shatters as he leaves the only world he knows behind. The flow of time is a funny thing y'know, it's nowhere near as absolute as people like to pretend.</p>
<p>Or, the story of how the Luminary isn't thrown perfectly back in time, to Arboria before Yggdrasil falls. No, he finds himself in countless little moments, drops in the ocean that stir up a tidal wave, all viewed beneath a different light. He can fix it, he can save <em>everyone.</em></p>
<p>As long as he doesn't lose himself along the way, that is.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Camus | Erik/Hero | Luminary (Dragon Quest XI), Graig | Hendrik/Sylvia | Sylvando (Dragon Quest XI), Marutina | Jade/Veronica (Dragon Quest XI)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>beneath a different light</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>it's 3am and i have luminerik brainworms if i dont write a fix-it right now im gonna LOSE IT (also the title and lyrics in the summary are from Constellations by the Oh Hellos, which im listening to on loop as i write this). this fic is gonna have a LOT of headcanons about how characters all interact with each other along with some deep dives into character personalities, so theres a slight chance we'll venture into ooc territory. im also gonna grab the time travel trope and beat it with a broom so like, prepare for a lot of unfounded opinions on the nonexistent mechanics of time travel</p>
<p>id also like to apologize for how,,, disjointed this'll get sometimes. youll see what i mean</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Lost Lands were... quiet. Unsettling.</p>
<p>Eleven didn't quite know how to put it, but something about this place seemingly untouched by time, only known by a near extinct race of beings known as the 'watchers', reachable only via giant flying whale, surrounded by those little tockles that no one else but him could see-</p>
<p>It left a sour taste on his tongue.</p>
<p>He was on a mission though, they all were. According to the last watcher, the small one who couldn't have been older than whatever counted as a child in the watchers society, they had a chance to fix everything. To turn back the clock, to bring back the loved ones they had lost.</p>
<p>To bring back Veronica.</p>
<p>Even thinking about her made his eyes dart to Serena. There was a strange tension to her, something like fear and desperation and <em>hope </em>all mixed up into one, forcing her to stand a little straighter. Move a little stiffer. He couldn't begin to imagine how she felt- well, no. He could, he definitely could. Stumbling upon the ruins of Cobblestone with Erik all those months ago, reliving the memories of Chalky and Gemma and Sandy, of the oh-so-filled-with-love-and-pride visage of his mom, it probably wasn't too far off of how Serena felt when they found the ghostly visage of Veronica's body, a mere mirage that served as nothing more than a messenger.</p>
<p>He wondered how Serena felt, every time she cast a spell that wasn't her own. Was it comforting? Was it heavy? Did it scrape away at her like sandpaper? That, he couldn't know.</p>
<p>But he could give her Veronica back, couldn't he? It didn't need to be Serenica, it didn't need to be a perfect rendition of Erdwin's supposed soulmate, it needed to be Veronica and Serena, side by side. By <em>his </em>side. By all of their sides. The people of Arboria were devastated, of course, but it was obvious the way they looked at Serena. The way their eyes lit up when she threw a fireball or summoned a giant shard of ice. They didn't see her as a twin who had lost her other half- they saw her as a legend come to life. They saw her as <em>whole. </em><br/><br/>It was disgusting. </p>
<p>Jade wasn't faring any better than Serena was, though she had her own way of showing it. Where Serena was steadfast, holding her head high (save for the quiet moments where Eleven would notice a hitch in her voice or a tremble to her lip), Jade was... blank. She was stiff, back to the way she was when they first met in Octagonia. It was like all the progress they had made, how they got her to open up little by little until she was laughing right alongside them rather than rolling her eyes at their antics, had just disappeared. He knew there was something between her and Veronica, not dissimilar to the way he knew there was something between Hendrik and Sylvando. </p>
<p>The way there was something between him and Erik.</p>
<p>He was certain they all refused to put a name to it, too scared of whatever destinies She had in store for them to hold on to anything more than the fragile found family they had in each other, but it was clear that some connections ran deeper than others. Erik loved the twins like he loved Mia, a fierce and protective thing that made him hover nearby whenever either of them were injured. Jade loved Hendrik and Rab the way she loved Eleven, Sylvando loved them all like he loved his Soldiers of Smile- but there was something to be said about the way Erik and El gravitated towards each other after a fight, the way Hendrik and Sylvando huddled close whenever they stayed at a campsite instead of an inn, the way Jade and Veronica bickered with each other constantly but snapped back three times as hard whenever anyone else <em>dare </em>insult the other. It was a dangerous kind of love, one that made them reckless at times, and reckless wasn't something they could afford when the weight of the world was on their shoulders.</p>
<p>A hand on his shoulder pulled Eleven out of his reverie, and when he turned his head he saw Erik.<br/><br/>"You alright there, El?" He asked, voice low but still impossibly loud in the eerie silence of the Lost Lands. "I know you're usually quiet, but-" He gestured vaguely at Eleven, hand leaving his shoulder to do so, and El couldn't say he didn't miss the warmth of it. "You're never... <em>distant.</em>" <br/><br/>"[I'm fine, Erik.]" He signs, a mix of the signs for 'blue' and 'steal' when he reaches Erik's name. "[Just thinking.]"</p>
<p>"Well don't think too hard, smoke'll start comin' out your ears." He teases, bumping his shoulder into El's as they walk. El just shakes his head with a grin that doesn't quite meet his eyes. Erik is emotionally constipated at the best of times, so he leaves El to his thoughts, but doesn't move from his side. Eleven is grateful. <br/><br/>Behind them, Jade walks with her arms crossed, steadfastly ignoring each of Sylvando's attempts to get her to chat. They sigh, falling back in step with Hendrik, who takes their hand discreetly. Serena leads the pack, Rab just a step behind her, with a defiant tilt to her chin that hides the dangerous glimmer of hope in her eyes. They round the final bend, more and more tockles joining them as they walk, and there it is.<br/><br/>The Tower of Lost Time.<br/><br/>Eleven cannot shake the feeling that something is going to go horribly wrong.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this is mostly just a test to see if i actually wanna write a ridiculously long character study and consequences of time travel analysis piece but who am i kidding im absolutely gonna lose sleep over this</p></blockquote></div></div>
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